It was a different Falcons side in both attack and defence from the
very first moments of Round 5, with the home side demonstrating a
significant improvement in both line speed and defensive intensity,
denying the Pride both football and field position in the first 20
minutes.

The Falcons' first points came in just the fifth minute, beginning
with a great cut out pass from Nicho Hynes and finishing with Sandor
Earl in the corner.

In the following set a penalty handed the Falcons easy metres and
Justin Olam capitalised on the opportunity, muscling his way over the
line just two plays later taking the score to 8-0 after ten minutes.

Earl was not to be outdone, swiftly following up his first effort with another try in the corner.

Todd
Murphy, celebrating his 100th Intrust Super Cup game, was not at all
himself with the boot, missing his third conversion attempt in a row
leaving the score at 12-0.

In a welcomed return to the side, Lachie Roe made his presence felt
in the middle before forcing his way over for a try in the 30th minute.

It was a case of fourth time lucky for Murphy who, much to the home
crowd’s delight, slotted his fourth conversion attempt of the day; the
score was 18-0 after 32 minutes.

In the shadows of the first half Falcons back rower Chris Lewis
crossed the line and Murphy converted, taking the score to 24-0 with
just minutes left to play in the first.A mistake from the Pride just minutes into the second half gifted the Falcons the ball just 20 metres out from the try line.

Athletic winger Jon Reuben made short work of another Hynes’ cut out
pass and continued the home side’s scoring run with a dive for the line;
Murphy failed to convert, leaving the score at 28-0 after 43 minutes.

In the 47th minute, the celebrations of Murphy’s 100th Intrust Super
Cup match started early when the nimble halfback left the opposition in
his wake throwing multiple dummies on his way to score a fantastic
individual try; he converted his own try, extending the Falcons lead to
34-0

The next points were the result of a superb backline effort from the
Falcons, where multiple players touched the ball in its journey to the
edge where a waiting Earl placed it down for his third try of the game;
Murphy converted to take the score to 40-0 in the 55th minute.

The Pride scored their first points of the game in the 61st minute
through Dominic Biondi; the conversion was successful, taking the score
to 40-6.

The ball found its way to the opposite end of the field just minutes
later and Reuben was sharpening his aerial skills yet again in an
impressive effort that further increased the home side’s lead to 44-6
with just 13 minutes left to play. The Falcons continued the celebrations a set later as Murphy crossed
for his second; Murphy also converted the try, notching up the half
century of points for the home side at the 69th minute.

The Pride’s Connor Jones made an immediate impact after replacing
Kurt Baptiste, as he crossed the line for the visitors in the 74th
minute; the conversion was unsuccessful, taking the score to 50-10.

Smith had plenty of praise for his troops but made special mention of his fullback, hooker and some of his big men.

“Although Sandor and Jono scored give tries between them, it was Nico Hynes who threw that last pass each time," Smith said.

"I really thought he was outstanding today at fullback…..and Tino
Faasuamaleaui and Lachie Roe were both brilliant off the bench.

“It was Tino’s first game of the year as well, so it was great to have him back.

"Harry Grant was great through the middle and Darryn Shonig really set the stage, with his very first hit of the match.

“There was plenty of talk during the week about Darryn coming up
against his former side in the Pride, but he handled it perfectly and
really led the way.”